Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Enemy of Our Enemy is Our Friend

Being from Pittsburgh, we don't see much of the Packers on TV except for when they get the occasional prime time game. But since Sunday Night Football this past season was pretty much the "NFC East Matchup of the Week"...we really didn't see much of the Cheeseheads.

So to get some better perspective on what the Steelers can do this Sunday to hoist their Seventh Lombardi, I sent some feelers out to bloggers from the six teams that beat the Packers this year to see what their teams did to have success.

Key point: The Packers committed 18 penalties in this game. Brian Urlacher forced a fumble on the Packers last drive and the Bears marched down the field and kicked the winning field goal as time expired.

1. The Packers defense averaged 12.3 points against in the 10 games they won and 19.5 points against in the 6 games they lost. How did your team have success on offense attacking the Packers defense?

BearsHQ: Running the damn football. Run the ball to the boundry and good things will happen. If you give the Packers time to create turnovers, they will do so. Attacking them makes life easier. If you sit back, they'll get you. Finally, contain Clay Matthews, Jr. and that helps.

BearsSTH: The Bears know the Packers very well. Offensively and defensively the matchups have been a wash and really came down to a play or 2 that made a difference. It will come down to who ever can make the least number of mistakes. In the first game against the Packers, in which the Bears won, it came down to the special teams. Devin Hester returned a punt for a touchdown and Robbie Gould it a game winning field goal.

2. The Packers averaged 29.1 points per game in their 10 wins and 16.2 points per game in their 6 losses, scoring over 21 points only once. What did your team do defensively to slow down the Packers high-powered offense?

BearsHQ: Hit Aaron Rodgers early and often. Force the Packers receivers to the middle so you can strip the ball. They're prone to fumbles. Don't give up on plays, they'll lose the ball.

BearsSTH: The Bears have been able to pressure Aaron Rodgers consistently enough to make him nervous. Although the Bears didn't register huge sack numbers, the D-line made the Packer's offensive line nervous by causing them to false start and get called for holding penalties.

3. What was the turning point in your game with the Packers that enabled your team to secure the victory?

BearsSTH: The Bears emphasize a complete game by all three phases of the game, offense, defense and special teams. The Bears special teams helped seal the victory over the Packers with a Hester return, as this played helped swing the momentum of the game.

4. If you had to play the Packers again, what would be your recommendation for how to attack them (either on offense or defense)?

BearsHQ: The Bears have played the Packers well. Putting pressure on Rodgers and running the football was a key, plus special teams can help. This is a rivalry game, so strange things always seem to happen.

BearsSTH: Don't give up the run early. The Packers had a solid defense but teams shouldn't shy away from attacking them this way. This make their linebackers and secondary pay attention and set up the play action.

1. The Packers defense averaged 12.3 points against in the 10 games they won and 19.5 points against in the 6 games they lost. How did your team have success on offense attacking the Packers defense?

Lets just say that more games are lost than won. The Packers lost the Redskins game. Injuries were a factor. The Packers lost four players during the game, including LB Clay Matthews in the fourth quarter (hamstring). The Redskins concussed Aaron Rodgers in the fourth quarter. He did not leave the game. He should have. Nine penalties hurt the Packers' cause. Mason Crosby's missed 53 yard field goal attempt with 0:02 to go was a killer for the Pack.

Green Bay was ahead 13-3 at the start of the fourth quarter after dominating the Redskins' offense to that point. Donovan McNabb's big play 48 yard scoring strike to Anthony Armstrong followed Brandon Banks' 30 yard punt return by two plays to breath life in Washington. On the critical fourth quarter drive that ended with the field goal to tie, the Redskins attacked the middle of the Packer defense--where Clay Matthews used to be--with a four yard run by Ryan Torain and two key passes to TE Chris Cooley for 30 yards.

2. The Packers averaged 29.1 points per game in their 10 wins and 16.2 points per game in their 6 losses, scoring over 21 points only once. What did your team do defensively to slow down the Packers high-powered offense?

This was a battle of attrition. The Redskins played the Packers physically in the second half and overtime. Washington knocked four players out of the game and knocked Aaron Rodgers into a concussion. Rodgers missed the next game. Agame analysisby Redskins Hog Heaven's Greg Trippiedi found that Rodgers was hit or was pressured into an early decision on 10 of his last 15 passes.

3. What was the turning point in your game with the Packers that enabled your team to secure the victory?

Green Bay had two possessions in overtime. Both were three-and-outs. The first ended in a Brian Orakpo sack. The second ended with S LaRon Landry's interception return to Green Bay's 24 yard line to set up the winning field goal.

4. If you had to play the Packers again, what would be your recommendation for how to attack them (either on offense or defense)?

The Packers won't look past the Steelers as they might have done with the Redskins, but what we learned about Green Bay should come easy for Pittsburgh. The Packers proved themselves a tough, resilient team. You need to attrit them to win in the fourth quarter. I looked up STEELERS in the dictionary. The definition was slobber-knockers.

Washington would have had a better day on offense if Clinton Portis was healthy and available. I trust that the Steelers will not go away from Rashard Mendenhall during the game. Green Bay will be a tough win in any event.

Key point: The Falcons, like the other 3 teams to beat the Packers previously, won the game on a field goal at the end of the game.

To give us some insight into the Falcons win, we turn to our buddy Scott Carasik, Founder of ScarDraft.com (@scar988 on Twitter)

1. The Packers defense averaged 12.3 points against in the 10 games they won and 19.5 points against in the 6 games they lost. How did your team have success on offense attacking the Packers defense?

Running the ball. If you can smash it down their throats you will have success.

2. The Packers averaged 29.1 points per game in their 10 wins and 16.2 points per game in their 6 losses, scoring over 21 points only once. What did your team do defensively to slow down the Packers
high-powered offense?

A lot of 3 man rush and sitting back in zones in this game. But in the playoffs tried the same thing and failed.

3. What was the turning point in your game with the Packers that enabled your team to secure the victory?

When Aaron Rodgers fumbled on the goalline early in the game. Atlanta took a lead of 11 points into the half and never looked back.

4. If you had to play the Packers again, what would be your recommendation for how to attack them (either on offense or defense)?

On offense, we would have to run the ball better and play mistake free football.

Key Point: Aaron Rodgers got hurt in this game and Matt Flynn was ineffective in relief duty. Lions 3rd string QB Drew Stanton threw a touchdown pass in the 4th quarter that was enough for the Lions secure the win.

Lions fans are busy looking forward to the NFL Draft. Check out our buddy Ty's blog, The Lions In Winter and his Packers Game Recap.

Key Point: Matt Flynn put up a yeoman's effort throwing for 3 TDs to keep the Packers in it, but the Patriots pulled away in the 4th quarter and didn't look back. Green Bay dominated time of possession, with over 40 minutes of ball control.

Check out the Game Recap from the guys over at the Patriots blog Musket Fire.

So there you have it. The Packers haven't trailed by more than 7 points all season, so it's highly unlikely that the Steelers will break out to a huge lead in the Super Bowl. From how teams have beat the Packers this year, it's taken timely defensive plays that created turnovers and clutch kicking to get it done. Teams have been able to run the ball against Green Bay and you've got to believe that as long as we're in the game, Mendenhall is going to get his share of carries.

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